"In Wales, fuel is the lifeline of the rural community. It isn't only our work that suffers."

He said his figures showed the average cost of running a car had gone about £34 per week over the past two years.

Ray Holloway, director of the Petrol Retailers Society, said: "The main oil price is something that has been increasing for some time.

"We have to accept we're now out of an era when our oil was able to come through to the pumps at around 80-85 per litre. Those day are behind us and were going to have to pay more for energy.

'Tax policy'

"I'm in the camp that the government should have realised a long time ago that we were headed into this new era for oil price and they should have revisited their tax policy on transport fuels after the warning they got in September 2000."

On Monday, Tregele service station, near Amlwch, Anglesey was charging 104p for a litre of unleaded, equivalent to £4.77 per gallon.

Average diesel prices in the UK stand at 97.3p - up from 95.8p - and are expected to top £1 in the coming weeks.

Average petrol prices topped 90 pence a litre for the first time last month and have carried on rising.